Business ProfileforTony's Restaurant

My son presented me with a gift for a restaurant at Christmas some time back. Tony's St. Louis. $50. Paid in cash by my son. It came off of the gifts.opentable.com website. Due to health/travel restrictions for me, covid shutdowns, and the restaurant relocating, it took me some time to take advantage of the gift. On November 4, 2021, I finally made to the new location in Clayton, MO. I presented the gift and they indicated that they would no longer honor it. The terms on the gift read: No expiration date, service charges, or dormancy fees. I had periodically contacted the restaurant to ch*** on its value and was repeatedly told that it was still good. I assumed based on the “terms” above and the previous contacts with the restaurant that this would be true for the November 4 visit. I was very disappointed, but despite that I decided to have dinner. With tax, tip it cost me $71. Money I had not planned on spending, given the gift I had in hand. I was particularly unhappy as Tony’s has a long reputation of being an excellent restaurant for food and service, and charges high prices for the experience. They make millions each year, but can’t honor a $50 “cash paid for” gift certificate with their brand on it? Not classy, disrespectful to the consumer who paid cash for it, and received nothing in value in return. Disrespectful to the gift owner as well. I don’t know who financially benefited from the gift card. I assume it ended up on Tony’s P/L statement sometime after purchase.